Expert tips: Dealing with a fire emergency on your boat

A fire is one of the scariest things that can happen on your boat, but if you stay calm and act rationally, you should be able to keep yourself safe and minimise damage to your boat. 

Aaron Mortimer, CEO of Mariner Insurance, has dealt with hundreds of claims involving fire and knows more than your average boatie about this type of emergency. He has shared some tips to make sure you know what you’re doing if you ever have to deal with a fire.

The time between ignition and detection

Fires can get out of hand really, really quickly. So Aaron explains that the time between ignition and detection is absolutely critical:

“It’s important you know where your fire appliances are and how to operate them.”

“If you’ve got a boat with an enclosed cabin, maybe like this one [in the video], make sure you’ve got a fire alarm installed. This will let you detect the fire as soon as possible.”

 What to do when you’ve discovered a fire on board 

The first thing you should do when you’ve discovered a fire on board is put your life jacket on if you’re not already wearing one:

“Next, raise the alarm on your VHF channel 16 and declare a MAYDAY,” Aaron says.

“Use your fire extinguisher. Pull the pin. Aim at the base of the fire, squeeze the trigger and extinguish the fire this way. Always make sure your fire extinguishers are easily accessible and regularly serviced.”

Try to control the fire if you can do so safely 

The best way to do this is to remove the fuel or the oxygen from the fire. To remove the fuel:

• If you’ve got an engine fire, the first thing to do is shut off the engine and shut off the fuel supply.

• If you’ve got an electrical fire: shut off your electrical system but please remember to make sure you’ve raised the alarm first using VHF. With no electronics, you won’t be able to do that (and that’s why it’s a great idea to have a handheld VHF aboard). 

Finally, Aaron explains, that another way to stop the fire is to remove its oxygen:

“We do that by smothering the fire. We can do that by either using your fire blanket, or the other way of course, is to use your fire extinguisher that you’ll have on your boat.”

We hope you never have to deal with a fire onboard your boat, but you should be prepared, just in case. Make buying and servicing your fire extinguisher a priority.